Shadowed Waters
by DGMSilverAirHead03
Summary: Nellie Barlow grew up away from guilds and conflict. But that changes when she decides to leave her foster grandparents and see the world.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hello all! Thought I'd take a stab at the Fairy Tail fandom. :D Also I love Rogue and Froche. Read and Review!

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**Disclaimer: **I don't own FT, only my OCs

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**_Shadowed Waters_**

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**_July 7, X777_**

The sun was shining that day as a small girl with long wavy dirty blonde hair that reflected the morning light stretched and yawned soundlessly. She rubbed her stormy grey eyes and looked around in confusion. This was not the cozy underwater cavern she shared with her dragon-mother Vaelle; it was far too bright. She reached out her hands and concentrated but she could not feel the give and pull of the ocean. Her lower lip trembled and she opened her mouth but no sound came out. She pushed herself to her feet and stumbled. The little girl wasn't used to putting that much weight on her slender legs. She felt a heavy weight around her waist and looked down. A belt of shining cyan scales held her frock of woven kelp in place and a conch shell hung off her left hip. Her lips parted and a stab of fear shot through her and she fumbled for the shell. She blew into it and the blast echoed across. She started walking, blowing into her shell as tears rolled down her face. She didn't know how long it was until she found the elderly couple that took her in. They noticed immediately she could not hear their calls and took her into their small cottage. She sobbed silently in the elderly woman's arms and the man tilted her chin up and said, "What is your name child? And where is your mother?"

Her eyes watered and her hands moved slowly. The woman shook her head. "The girl cannot speak. Do you think she can spell?"

"I don't know. There's a mage in town who knows sign language." The mage was summoned and sat with the little girl for five minutes before stalking over to the couple. "The girl is an imbecile or a liar. She claims she was raised by a dragon and lived in the ocean."

The couple frowned but the woman asked, "Did you get her name?"

"Nellie Barlow."

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**A/N: **The first couple chapters will be shorter than the rest. Will be updated extremely sporadically. Like? Review!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Hey look a chapter!

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**Disclaimer: ** I own Nellie and her cat, but no one else in FT.

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Shadowed Waters

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**_May 17, X778_**

Nellie giggled silently as she wrapped more blankets around the gray egg. It was almost as big as she was and she liked to rub the smooth shell. The texture reminded her of the rocks worn away by waves around the cove where she lived with Vaelle. Her adopted grandparents watched, one worried, the other amused.

"I'm worried Nick. It's not healthy for a young girl to be so obsessed."

"You worry too much Marie." The grandpa walked over to the girl and ruffled her hair. When she looked up, he smiled. "Come along Nellie girl. Time to work."

The blonde girl sighed and covered the egg with a fluffy white blanket made of soft sheep wool. Nellie went to the garden of flowers behind the small cottage and watched for a moment as Grandpa hitched their little pony to the plow. Then she stretched her arms to the sky and grinned. She turned toward the well and slowly, like a dancer, brought her arms down and raised them slowly. Water infused with her will rose out of the well in a shaking, but fairly even stream and she brought it to halt, hovering over the flower beds. Then she let the will out of the water and the magic slid away. The water splashed everywhere and she thought perhaps the plants looked a bit happier. Nellie walked to the edge of the field her grandpa was tilling and smiled. She blew into her shell lightly and signed, _I'm finished Grandpa. May I go play with my egg?_

Grandpa raised an eye brow and said, "Why don't you practice your spells for an hour or so? Then you can go inside and see to your egg."

She sighed, but nodded. She walked toward the river that ran parallel to the farm cottage and carefully made a ball of floating water rise up. Then she tried separating the ball into two. Then, three and four and so on until she had twelve floating spheres around her. She was sweating visibly but she grinned and made them explode into shimmering droplets. She marveled as they hung in the air for a moment, catching the sun in the most beautiful way possible. Then she laughed silently and wondered if she could make twice as many spheres like that.

An hour later, Nellie ran into the cottage, her cute baby blue dress soaked and a large smile on her face. Grandma scolded her and sent her to her room to change. She came back out in a white lacy dress and no shoes before making a beeline for her egg. It was very warm and she wrapped her arms around it, sending thoughts of love to it like she did with the flowers in her garden. It wiggled.

Nellie froze.

It shook harder.

Nellie backed up a bit and stared at the egg intently.

It rocked back and forth hard enough to attract the attention of her adoptive grandparents. Nellie beamed excitedly, her hand flying. _It's hatching, it's hatching! Grandma, I'm gonna be a mommy like Vaelle!_

Grandma smiled slightly. "Oh maybe a big sister Nellie girl. You're far too young to be a mother."

Nellie giggled silently and watched as a huge crack appeared in the egg. It glowed briefly and then, amidst the wooly blankets in the place of the egg, was a sea foam colored cat with a gray underbelly. The same gray tipped her paws and tail. She yawned adorably and sneezed and Nellie did a funny little dance. The little kitty blinked at the humans in front of her and tiny but beautiful white wings popped out of her back. "Are you my mummy?"

Grandma and Grandpa's jaws dropped but Nellie clasped her hands under her chin in childish delight and caught up the cat against her chest.

Grandpa recovered first and asked, "What is your name?"

The sea foam cat blinked. "I don't know." She turned to Nellie. "What's my name?"

Nellie signed to her grandpa. _Her name is Willa!_

"Why does she do that with her hands?" asked Willa once she was named.

"Nellie cannot speak and the doctor said she cannot hear like other people. She uses her hands to communicate."

The kitty's eyes filled with tears. "Nellie can't speak to me?"

Grandma finally found her voice. "She can. She just has to use her hands. Would you like to learn?"

And that's how Willa learned sign language and became Nellie's official translator. She also became her closest friend.

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**A/N: **How you like? Review?


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hey everyone! I realized I never said how old Nellie was. This gave me some trouble because I wanted her to be close to Rogue and Sting's age but I had to take into account the time skip. It then occurred to me that if Wendy hadn't gone to Tenrou Island, she would be the twins' age. So right now, Nellie is the same age as Wendy. Also, when I think of healing, I think of water because of A:TLA and the Aleran Codex, so my headcanon is that both Sky dragon magic and Water dragon magic can be used for healing, but for water, it's a very advanced skill.

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**Disclaimer: **I don't own FT, just Nellie and Willa. _Italics _are Nellie signing and Willa speaking for her when the person doesn't know sign-language.

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**_November 7, X784_**

Nellie surveyed her little room from her dressing table. It looked so bare without all her seashells and flowers. Willa popped up next to her, dressed in the tank top and skirt her partner had made for her. "Nellie, do we have to go? We can stay a few more years with Grandma and Grandpa."

The blonde shook her head. _I keep hearing about the dragon slayers of Fairy Tail. I want to meet them. They might know where Vaelle is._

Willa looked worried when her partner signed this but climbed up onto her shoulder. "I think they'd have found them by now if they had any ideas. But we can still go, if you're that set on it."

Nellie smiled and turned to her mirror. Her blonde hair had grown out even more and she usually braided it back to keep it out of her way. Her grey eyes were shining and clear and she was a very pretty twelve-year-old girl. Nellie picked up the music box her grandpa had bought her the last time he was in town and wound it up. The little golden seashell opened and a mermaid turned slowly as the music played. The young dragon slayer picked up her brush and ran it through her hair. Her grandmother appeared behind her and gently took the brush from her hands. "Let me Nellie girl."

Nellie let her eyes slip closed and sighed happily. She'd been able to make faint, barely-there sounds for about a year now and she had just learned to laugh. Speech still escaped her, but with Willa to translate, she didn't really need it. Her grandma hummed along with the music box and she brushed Nellie's hair. When the song ended, her grandmother placed both the brush and the box in her knapsack. "Are you sure you won't stay longer?"

_No, Grandma. I need to do this._

"But we'll miss you so much Nellie girl."

Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and she hugged her grandma. _I'll miss you too!_

The hug lasted a good ten minutes before Nellie pulled away. She pick up her knapsack and slung it across her body. Then she fastened her conch shell to her dragon scale belt. Willa flew along behind her, braiding Nellie's hair. Grandpa was whittling something by the door and stood up when the women came downstairs, smiling. "There are my pretty ladies. C'mere girls."

Grandma pushed Nellie gently toward Grandpa and went to busy herself in the kitchen. Willa tied off her braid and flopped herself down on top of Nellie's head as Grandpa hugged her. "We'll miss you Grandpa." He smiled, his wrinkled face covered in laugh lines. "I'll miss you too Willa, Nellie girl." He paused. "I have a gift for you."

Nellie looked surprised. _You didn't have to get me something Grandpa._

"I know dear, but I wanted to. Besides, I carved it." He pulled out what he'd been working on when they came down. It was a set of pipes, like the kind the shepherds played during the long, uneventful days of watching sheep. Each individual pipe was a different color and it was held together with twine. Nellie looked delighted by the present and blew a few trilling notes. Grandpa laughed. "I'm glad you liked it, Nellie girl."

Grandma came out of the kitchen and handed her a small picnic basket. "Now I've packed you a lunch of cold meat and fruit, so make sure to eat it before it goes bad. I also packed dinner for you; a thermos of soup and some bread. There's some money in the blue pouch on the bottom to pay for any hotels. It should last you a week or so, if you use it wisely."

Nellie nodded solemnly and hugged her grandparents once more before heading out. She paused at the gate and looked back at them. They smiled and waved encouragingly and her face split into a grin.

She walked down the path to the little village where there was a Blue Pegasus guild hall, though it wasn't the main one. She and Willa stopped in the village to eat their lunch and saw some members heading toward the hall. Three battered young men and a shorter, older man were strolling through town. Willa's tail twitched. "That little guy looks like he needs a hospital."

Nellie nodded solemnly. _It's too bad I never learned. I could help them. _She looked back toward the group but they were gone.

"Are you lost little girl?" Nellie squeaked when the medium-sized one with dark blonde hair appeared at her left elbow. The smallest one, a much brighter blonde than her, appeared at her right. "Do you want a big brother? I would treat you extra-super-special!"

A glass of apple juice materialized in front of her, attached to a dark hand and black suit. "I got you this juice… but it's not 'because I think you're adorable, okay?"

Nellie suddenly wrinkled her nose as something honey-scented floated by. "Men! Let me look at this lovely little flower!"

"Yes sir!"

And the short man with flame colored hair was suddenly kneeling before her and kissing her hand. "What a lovely child! And such a clean, ocean-scented parfum!"

Nellie, frozen in shock, met the eyes of the four men staring at her. She made a strangled groaning sound and ripped her hand away, flipping over the chair and hiding behind it. Willa pounced on the man's head. "Stop it! Leave Nellie alone!"

The man yelped as Willa's teeny-tiny claws dug into his scalp. "Master Ichiya!" The younger men all attempted to remove Willa but she struggled against them and soon it was hard to tell what was going on. Nellie frantically flapped her hands at them, but no one noticed. She fumbled with her conch and blew it.

Hard.

The loud sound made them all freeze and they were in quite a comical position: The tall, dark one had hold of Ichiya and the medium one with dark blonde hair had hold of Willa's tiny body. Willa was still trying to claw Ichiya and the littlest one was gripping her little gray-tipped tail.

She made some signs and Willa translated, "She wants us to stop."

All of them immediately released the little sea foam colored cat and she flew over to her partner's shoulder. "She also wants you not to stare at her like that. She doesn't like that at all."

The four of them averted their eyes and Willa snickered. Nellie tugged one of her ears, frowning, and she sighed. "You don't have to do _that. _Just don't stare."

Ichiya struck a pose. "Ah! Little ocean-parfum girl! We are ashamed to have caused you such discomfort! Men!"

Nellie smiled slightly. _It's okay. My name is Nellie. Who are you?_

"Men?!"

The medium one leapt toward her. "I am Hibiki Lates!"

The little one joined him. "And I'm Eve Tearm!"

The tall, dark one also came forward. "I'm Ren Akatsuki. And we're the Trimen!"

Hibiki flourished his bandage-wrapped hand toward he older man. "And this is our Sensei, Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki!"

Nellie giggled. Once you got past the flamboyant crazy, these guys were very nice. "So are you lost young lady?"

Nellie shook her head. _I'm heading for Fairy Tail. I heard they had two dragon slayers._

Hibiki smiled. "Three now actually. Wendy's about your age, Nellie. She's the Sky dragon slayer."

Nellie's wide gray eyes got even wider. _Do you know the dragon slayers?!_

Ren nodded, a small smirk playing at his lips. "I've only heard of the iron dragon slayer by reputation, but Natsu is pretty wild."

"And Wendy is _adorable!_" Eve added, pushing the forgotten apple juice toward the twelve-year-old. "Almost as adorable as you!"

Ichiya sat across from her. "Little ocean-parfum girl! Are you a mage wishing to join Fairy Tail?! Why don't you join Blue Pegasus instead?! Your potential beauty is staggering! Men!"

Nellie blushed slightly and tugged on her braid, embarrassed. _I can use magic but I don't want to join a guild right now. I just want to meet the dragon slayers._

Hibiki sighed. "Oh well. What kind of magic can you use?"

Nellie smiled slyly and flicked her fingers at his glass of water. It rose up out of the glass with little effort on her part and encircled Eve's head like a halo. Ren raised eyebrow. "That's pretty impressive for a kid. Not that I care."

Willa glared at him but Nellie soothed her by stroking her tail. She returned the water to his glass and started fidgeting when Hibiki's stare became more intense. Eve looked worried and whispered to his friend, "She doesn't like to be stared at, remember?"

"Nellie," he said, ignoring Eve, "who raised you?" She told them. "Seven years ago, Karen went to see an elderly couple because she knew sign language. There was a little deaf girl claiming her mother was a dragon."

Nellie cocked her head to the side. She remembered that mage. She'd been mean. Hibiki smiled. "You weren't making that up were you? You're a dragon slayer too."

She blushed even more red and nodded. "Well then, you should hurry along to Magnolia. I wish you luck and speed, Miss Nellie Barlow."

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**A/N: **So what do ya think? Review!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Hello! Next chapter here for ya!

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**Disclaimer: **I own Nellie and Willa, but not FT.

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**_November 25, X784_**

Nellie gazed with huge gray eyes upon the Fairy Guild Hall. She couldn't believe how big it was! Willa fiddled with her fluffy tail, pulling it around her and rubbing her face in it. Nellie looked down at her friend and signed, _It's so big Willa!_

"I know! I wonder if any of the dragon slayers are here." They stood outside the large double doors for a few more minutes.

"Nellie, are we going in?"

"Oi. Who are you two?" When a large shadow enveloped the little girl, she whirled around so fast her braid hit her in the face. She rubbed her stinging nose and stared at the large young man in front of her. He had huge muscles and a scar under his eye and his white hair was spiked up. The Fairy Tail guild mark was on his neck. Nellie looked up at him and shivered as he stared down at her. She hated being stared at. Her fingers were trembling as she signed, _I'm Nellie. My friend is Willa. What's your name, sir?_

Willa frowned as she repeated the words and the big man answered, "I'm Elfman Strauss. Why are you trembling? That's not manly!"

Nellie vaguely wondered why he thought a twelve year old girl would be manly but signed, _I don't like being stared at._

Before Willa could translate, Elfman shook his head. "I don't know what you're saying when you wiggle your fingers like that. C'mon in, I'm sure some manly person will know sign language."

Nellie followed the large man in and they walked up to the bar. "Hey Mirajane, there's a little girl here who's deaf. Does anyone know sign language?"

"I usually translate for her," Willa said timidly to the sweet looking woman behind the bar. Her long white hair and blue eyes suggested to Nellie that she was Elfman's sister.

"Oh! Well that's okay, little kitty. Levy and Freed know FSL*. Freed's not here right now and Levy hasn't come in yet today though." The barmaid Mira smiled at them. "Would you like some orange juice?"

Nellie nodded eagerly and Willa politely asked for milk instead. Mira obliged and they sat at the bar while Elfman wandered over to a brunette who had her arms wrapped around a barrel. "So, why did you two come to Fairy Tail today? Do you have a request for the board?"

_Actually, I wanted to know if the dragon slayers were here Miss Mirajane. _She looked surprised. "Really? Do you know Wendy? You look about the same age."

_No Miss Mirajane. I'd very much like to meet her though._

For some reason, the woman looked amused. "You don't need to call me Miss. Just call me Mira, everyone does. Wendy usually wanders in around lunch time with Carla, Lucy and Levy. They should be here soon." A sly smile came over her features then. "_But _if you want to meet a dragon slayer, one of them is sitting in the corner upstairs."

Nellie excited thanked her and dashed up the stairs with Willa riding on her shoulder. Mirajane giggled and one of the men at the bar looked at her. "Mira did you just send that little girl to face down Gajeel?"

"Oh hush Macao she'll be fine."

Nellie looked around the upper floor. There was another white haired, blue eyed girl having a drink with a man in a visor whose tongue kept lolling out like a dog's. She assumed this was another Strauss sibling; she looked too much like Mira not too be. There wasn't a lot of people up there as noticeable as those two, but she saw three people at a corner table. One of them was a woman in all blue with pastel blue hair and bright blue eyes. She looked to be beseeching a man with wild long black hair and multiple piercings to come downstairs with her to take a job, but he just wasn't having it, given the set of his jaw and the glint in his narrow red eyes. The third person wasn't an actual person but a cat like Willa! He was brownish-black where Willa was sea-foam green and his ears were rounded while hers were pointed. Willa looked at him curiously but Nellie looked excited when the woman shifted a little and she saw a plate of screws in front of the man. Nellie approached them and stood quietly until they noticed her, not wanting to be rude and interrupt.

"Gajeel, it will be fun! We never seem to go on jobs together anymore and Juvia needs money to buy important things!"

"So go buy yourself woman. More money for you. I'm waiting here. I just got back from a job."

"But it's more fun when Juvia works with her friends!"

"Then take Ice Brain and Bunny Girl."

She turned red and steam came out the top of her hat. "Juvia could never be so bold as to ask Gray to go with her! Juvia's not ready for that!"

Nellie sniffed, wondering why the pretty lady smelled like boiling water. It was about then that the cat noticed them. "Well hello. Who are you two?"

The mages' heads swung around to look at who the cat was talking too and Nellie's face turned as red as the woman's had been a few moments before. Willa jumped in at that point and said, "She's Nellie and I'm Willa. Which one of you is the dragon slayer?"

That stopped the conversation on the upper floor and all eyes were on Nellie. She hunched up her shoulders and tension radiated off of her. Juvia noticed and stepped in front of her, clapping her hands. "Okay, Juvia thinks that's enough! Stop staring at the little girl!"

The mages on the second floor frowned until the Strauss girl said, "Hey c'mon guys it's not our business. Go downstairs or butt out."

One of the mages started to say, "But Lisanna—"

"You heard the little lady, move it!" barked the man in the visor. Some brave souls stayed to eavesdrop but most of them fled downstairs when the man's tiki dolls started dancing about repeating variations of his statement. Lisanna also wandered down but the visored man went back to his drink, ignoring the three still in the corner. Gajeel watched the younger girl relax a bit and she looked shyly at him. Something about her smelled familiar but he couldn't quite pinpoint the scent. "Why do you need a dragon slayer kid? There aren't any dragons around to slay, or me n Salamander would've heard by now."

She blushed and signed, _I just wanted to meet you._

His brow furrowed and Nellie looked over at Willa, who was talking with the other cat with a shocked look on her face. She looked distressed; if Willa wasn't there to translate she didn't quite know what to do. Gajeel frowned and dug into his pocket. He produced a pad of paper. "Juvia, you got a pen? Can you write?" he asked the little girl, who nodded. Juvia offered up a dark blue pen and Nellie wrote down what she'd signed.

Gajeel's studded eyebrow raised. "Well you've met me. What now?"

Nellie hesitated. _You don't know where the dragons are?_

"No." Nellie blinked back the tears that filled her eyes as her last hope shattered. That was it. The chances of her seeing Vaelle again had just plummeted to probably never. Juvia glanced at the iron dragon slayer and saw him wince slightly. He hadn't meant to make her cry. He didn't even know _why _she was crying. "Hey, no don't do that… Why are you crying?"

Nellie didn't answer; she just cried harder. Soft, warm hands landed on her shoulders and she looked up through her tears. "There, there little one. Don't cry. Juvia will take you to Mira and we'll have lunch with Wendy. She's another dragon slayer and she's about your age."

That was when it clicked in Gajeel's head. She smelled familiar because she smelled like Wendy. Wendy didn't smell like other little girls and that meant…

His thought was cut off with two sharp smacks to the head. He blinked and saw that the two Exceeds were hovering in front of him, annoyed looks on their faces. Lily scolded, "Gajeel, I'm disappointed in you. Making a young girl cry! And you're usually so good with Wendy!"

Willa's fur was puffing out and she angrily hissed at him. "You made Nellie cry! If all other dragon slayers are as mean as you, I don't want Nellie to meet them!"

Juvia looked at Willa, startled. "All others? You mean besides Gajeel?"

"Besides Nellie!"

Everyone who had been eavesdropping whirled around and stared at her again. This time it was Gajeel that glared at them. "Get lost."

The upper floor cleared a second time, but the man with the tikis gave Nellie a tongue-lolling grin before hollering down, "OI NATSU, WENDY, SOMEONE UP HERE YOU OUGHTA MEET!"

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**A/N: **Next chapter will be the same day and probably coming soon!

*FSL= Fiore Sign Language


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter! You guys didn't think I'd leave you with that did ya?

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**Disclaimer: **I own Nellie and Willa, but not FT.

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**_November 25, X784_**

Natsu came thundering up the stairs with a blue cat flying next to him. "Who do I need to meet?!"

Gajeel smirked. "Use your nose Salamander."

Juvia rolled her eyes. "Good luck Nellie." The water mage passed Wendy, Lucy and Carla on the stairs. "Wendy there's someone who'd like to meet you."

Wendy and Lucy came up the front steps to see Natsu sniffing a small blonde girl with a long braid. She had her eyes squeezed shut and Gajeel rolled his eyes when he exclaimed, "She kinda smells like Wendy! Only less like clean air and more like the sea."

Wendy caught the scent he was talking about and was intrigued. "Are you a dragon slayer?"

When she didn't answer, Gajeel said, "She can't hear you. She uses sign language. I don't know it so I gave her some paper."

Lucy reached out and gently touched the girl's cheek. She started and Lucy smiled sympathetically at her. "Hi there. I'm Lucy."

She timidly moved her fingers and the Exceed that was hovering next to Lily said, "Her name is Nellie. I'm Willa."

Wendy smiled shyly at her and Nellie offered her own timid smile in return. "What's your element Nellie?" asked Carla curiously. The young dragon slayer blushed. _Water. I didn't master all of the skills my mother taught me, but I'm still practicing._

Wendy looked delighted. "Me too! I'm not very good yet and most of the advanced spells are out of range."

_Most of the advanced water spells are healing and scrying._

Natsu's nose wrinkled. "What's skyping?" he asked as Wendy asked, "Healing is an advanced skill for you?"

"She said scrying Natsu, not skyping," said Lucy, rolling her eyes. "And it's using water to see people who are too far away to contact by lacrima." Nellie giggled at Natsu's confused look and signed to Wendy, _Yes healing's an advanced skill. Vaelle said it's because Water healing is used only for the most fatal wounds because Sky magic is so complete. The only spells worth knowing were for wounds that are so severe they are beyond even Sky magic._

Wendy looked surprised. "Did you say Vaelle?" That caught Natsu and Gajeel's attention too. Nellie gave her new friend a quizzical look. _Yes. She's my dragon-mother._

"Grandine had mentioned her in my lessons. She was supposed to be greatly renowned among the dragons." Natsu scratched his head. "I remember Igneel saying something about an Empress Vaelle."

Nellie looked surprised when even Gajeel slowly added, "Metalicana said something about her being some big deal healer. One of his wings ached when it rained and he'd rant about being an idiot to not accept her help a long time ago."

Nellie blinked several times before answering, _I didn't know my mother was such a big deal._

Lucy smiled. "Well, it sounds like she didn't make it a big deal when she was raising you. That sort of implies she was modest."

Nellie smiled. She liked Lucy. Wendy renewed Juvia's invitation to eat with them and the girls went downstairs. Levy and Lisanna had joined Juvia and they all spent time asking Nellie questions, such as where in Fiore she was from, and where she'd been living after X777. Eventually, Cana and Evergreen wandered over and soon Erza and Bisca began asking as well. All the questions were beginning to overwhelm poor Nellie. She couldn't watch everyone's lips at once.

"Alright everyone give the poor dear a break! Poor Nellie looks so confused," scolded Mira from the bar. Evergreen rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright. We'll give the poor girl a break!"

After a minute or two, Levy, Lucy, and Juvia were the only ones still seated while Erza hovered over them.

Wendy smiled at her friend and asked, "So Nellie. Now that you've met us, what are you going to do?" Nellie thought for a moment. _I don't know. I might stay a while. Fairy Tail is a fun place once you get used to it and you're really nice Wendy. _She smiled sheepishly. _I don't have many friends my age._

Wendy giggled and they chatted a few more minutes before Natsu skidded to halt before their table. "Oi, Nellie! You're a dragon slayer! Let's see what you've got!"

Nellie looked very confused and Lucy bristled. "Don't you _dare, _Natsu! She isn't going to get into one of your stupid brawls!"

Natsu, however, wasn't listening. "Prepare yourself Nellie Barlow!" And hurled a fire ball at her face.

Nellie ducked under the table as Levy and Lucy shrieked and jumped out of the way. She heard something sizzle and saw Juvia putting the fire out with her arm, _which had turned to water!_

Nellie grinned and crawled along the table as Erza began to beat Natsu up for attacking her. She picked up an abandoned glass of water and manipulated it so that it hovered directly over Natsu's now spinning head. He gasped and spluttered when she let it drop and Gajeel roared with laughter as he looked wildly around for the culprit. He spotted her under the table and lunged for her. She squealed when he caught her and gave her a noogie. "Nice shot kid but I'm a lot stronger than you!"

Wendy ran over and started pulling on his arm. "Natsu, let go!"

"Yeah Salamander. How tough do you have to be to beat up on a little girl?" That sparked off one of their arguments and Wendy was able to pull her friend outside. They grinned at each other and Carla and Willa joined them. "You know Nellie, I'm curious about your skills too," admitted the Sky maiden. "How do you use your magic?"

Nellie brightened and pulled Wendy toward the beach. When they reached the water, Nellie swept one arm in a wide arc. Sea water leapt up in a stream and swirled around the blonde. She separated the water into two streams and made them whip at leaves that blew in the wind. Wendy watched in fascination when the leaves fluttered to the ground either cut cleanly in half or with small holes drilled through the exact middle. When her eyes returned to Nellie, the young water slayer had waded into the water and was making circular motions with her hands. The water swirled around her in a whirlpool and Nellie slapped the water smartly to make it part briefly. Then it flowed back in and raised the girl into the air, water swirling around her, making it look like she was half a whirlpool.

Wendy, Carla and Willa clapped eagerly and though Nellie couldn't hear it, she felt warm. She let the water flow down, creating a slide and went down, coming to stop at Wendy's feet, giggling and completely out of breath. Wendy reached down and helped her up. "That was great Nellie!" She hesitated and then asked, "Can you do a roar? Natsu, Gajeel and I can all roar."

In response, Nellie turned toward a large rock and took a deep breath. Then water blasted through the air and sliced off the top of the rock. Wendy cheered and threw her arms around Nellie. "That was great! You're really strong Nellie!"

"How did you get so powerful child?" asked Carla, who was also impressed.

_I've practiced hard. And I used my magic regularly on Grandpa's farm. _Carla turned to Wendy. "You could be just as powerful as Nellie if you tried harder Wendy! Look how far she's come!" Wendy grinned sheepishly. "Well, I just think we've employed our time differently."

Nellie smiled. _Yes I agree. I'm an awful healer. Look. _She showed Wendy and small burn scar on her elbow. _About a year ago, I got too close to Grandma's stove and burned myself. I tried to heal it with tap water but it didn't really work. The stinging went away immediately but it still scarred._

Wendy nodded. "That's actually really good. It took me forever to learn how to heal burns." Something lit up her eyes and she suddenly cried, "I have an idea!"

Nellie cocked her head slightly and Wendy continued, "I can teach you how to heal and you can teach me to fight!"

Both girls found this prospect exciting until Carla gently reminded them of one very important fact. "Girls there might be a problem. Nellie's style of magic is largely based on her inability to speak her spells. Teaching you to use the same type of magic would mean going back to the extreme basics for you Wendy."

"And Wendy's healing is Sky magic," added Willa. "Wouldn't Water magic's version be more difficult? Besides, the basic spells for water healing have been lost for a long time, haven't they?"

The girls sighed and a moment later, Nellie ventured, _I could still help you train Wendy. Just fighting someone a little more your level than Natsu or Gajeel would help you improve._

Wendy smiled again, cheered. "You're right! And I can still show you how my healing works. You can study it and see if you can find any similarities between it and Water magic."

The girls grinned and hugged before wandering around the beach. When the sun started to set, Wendy and Carla brought Nellie and Willa to Fairy Hills and they had a sleepover. Erza and Juvia both checked on them and Levy actually joined them for bit before both girls finally fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, there ya have it! Nellie's met all the dragon slayers. Next is the Tenrou arc. Has anyone got any predictions?


End file.
